Fears for 600 Thomson Airways jobs

Thomson Airways has started consulting staff over redundancies

Thomson Airways has started consulting staff over redundancies, raising the prospect of hundreds of job losses, it was revealed today.

Unite said it feared up to 600 jobs could be affected under efficiency plans announced by the company.

Thomson said in a statement: "Thomson Airways will be entering a 90 day consultation period with members of the cabin crew this month.

"This is as a result of our continuing drive to become more efficient, which includes changes to the aircraft fleet. Boeing 737-800 aircraft requiring fewer cabin crew are replacing Boeing 757s when they come up for renewal.

"Thomson Airways is committed to mitigating the impact of these changes on cabin crew and is working in partnership with the relevant trade union to achieve this result."

Unite regional officer Kevin Hall said: "These cuts are a blow to the workforce and the airline. Unite will be working constructively with the company and we are confident that we can substantially mitigate the impact of these cuts.

"However, Unite is adamant that compulsory redundancies are out of the question and we expect firm assurances from Thomson Airways that they will not go down this route."

Thomson Airways employs around 2,600 cabin crew.

PA